


Don't Push Yourself Too Much!

by fictionalized02



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Battle, F/M, Fluff, Implied Smut, yami is overprotective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26864230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalized02/pseuds/fictionalized02
Summary: The Clover Kingdom is faced with a new villain. When Charlotte discovers that this woman is a person from her past, she is determined to stop her.This new adventure might bring her closer to Yami.
Relationships: Charlotte Roselei/Yami Sukehiro
Comments: 9
Kudos: 90





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place a month or two after the departure of the elves.

Charlotte had a lot of captain duties and training to do, but instead, she was heading towards a meeting of the captains. Marx’s voice sounded urgent when he called. She just wished that it had nothing to do with the Spade Kingdom. 

She arrived and sat, like always, next to Yami. She usually uses the waiting time in order to calm herself down and stop blushing. Though today the meeting started immediately and Julius seemed too serious, so she forgot about it. 

“I’ve called you here on short notice because we are faced with a new villain. They attacked a few Black Bulls members outside their base. Among them was Asta. The Black Bulls fought against them. It seemed, though, that they were after Asta’s grimoire. Soon, Yami arrived and dealt with them. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to capture them. Their leader is a woman who calls herself ‘Dynasty’. We don’t know if this is her real name or just a nickname. The other two didn’t mention their names. Yami can you tell us what she told you before they retreated?” 

“ The crazy lady said that she is going to take into her possession Asta’s grimoire and then rule the Clover Kingdom as the strongest mage that ever existed.” 

We all sat in silence trying to contemplate what we had just heard. This opponent seemed very dangerous. And very ambitious.

“ I am telling you, she is a psychopath. I only fought with the other two, though. She didn’t fight, seemed uninterested. Nevertheless, I can tell from her mana that she is very powerful.” he added.

“ We need to protect Asta. She must not get the grimoire.” said Rill.

“ Of course not. Asta and the rest of the Black Bulls are in danger, so what we are going to do is place some magic knights around the Black Bulls base. They will patrol the base and the surrounding area.” Julius said. “ I also suggest that the rest of the squads be on high alert. We don’t know how they plan to achieve their goal. There is also a possibility that Asta’s grimoire might not be the only thing they are after.” 

The other captains asked some questions about more details, such as their powers, and then they concluded that the program of patrol duties would be sent to the captains. After that, the meeting came to an end. 

Charlotte was still curious about that villain. Yami had seen her and she wanted to know more about her. Her name… She had heard it somewhere, years ago. However, she could not recall such a memory. Even though a part of her felt nervous about talking to Yami, she really wanted to learn more things about her appearance, in hopes of remembering something. So, while they were walking through the corridors towards the exit, they were left behind and she took this chance in order to ask him. 

“ So… that woman. How old was she? What was her appearance like?”

He looked at her for a moment. He didn’t think that Charlotte would talk to him. During the meeting, he had been vague about their appearance. But the others didn’t ask for more information on this matter.

“ About our age. She was wearing a full-body black suit, a black cape, and a mask.”

“ A mask?” she questioned. Few mages wear masks. Her mind was reeling. She had to remember. What was she forgetting? She felt like there was a memory hidden somewhere inside her mind but she couldn’t find it. She hadn’t realized that she was caught up in her thoughts until she was brought back to reality when Yami talked again.” 

“Charlotte?”

“ Yes?” she said snapping her head towards him.

“ Anything wrong?” he had observed her before when she would get caught up in her thoughts. He thought that she was cute when she did that but he was also a bit worried. 

“ No. I was just thinking about the plan Julius told us.” 

She was lying. He knew. He always knew when she was lying. All thanks to ki. And she lies to him many times. He exhaled some smoke, wondering whether she would ever be honest with him. He had known for more than 6 years about her feelings and he was guessing that she liked him even prior to that. However, he hasn’t confronted her about them. He doesn’t want to put any pressure on her, he wants her to tell him when she is ready. And to be honest, he has no idea of what to do, as he is afraid he'll mess it up. In addition, he doesn’t even know how to approach her without her pushing him away. Like she did in the cave when he asked her that question. Though, he didn’t really mind. He knew that she wanted to grow old with him, for some reason he couldn’t understand, and that was enough for him. He had that feeling again in his stomach, that he couldn’t settle, even after they parted ways. No other woman could create this feeling inside him. However, he soon had to push these thoughts to the back of his mind as he had to think about protecting his squad. He had to protect the kid.

A week had gone by since the attack, and Charlotte was still trying to remember. She had heard this name, she was sure. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember when and where she had heard it. Though, she was sure that it was years ago.  
She was signing some papers when an explosion was heard nearby. She quickly left the base with a few members of her squad to find the cause of the explosion.  
Apparently, the explosion had occurred in a nearby town and it had caused the destruction of a statue of magic knights in the middle of a square. People were screaming, running away. Some were injured and some Blue Rose knights helped them to get to safety. Charlotte was waiting with her sword in her hand for the smoke to settle down. When it did, it revealed a levitating figure. It was Dynasty! The description fitted her perfectly. By sensing her mana, she could tell that she was very powerful! 

“The age of magic knights will soon be over!” she smirked wickedly. Charlotte attacked her with her briars but she dodged the attack with ease.

“Why are you attacking this village?” Charlotte asked.

“To give an idea of what is soon going to happen. And you.” she answered.

“What?” Charlotte asked in confusion.

“I knew that you would come here. I imagined that you would definitely rush here to save everyone in danger. I see that you haven’t changed.” she chuckled.

“Who are you?” she asked, even more confused.

“Doesn’t the name ‘Dynasty’ remind you anything?” 

Something felt familiar about that woman but she still couldn’t remember. What was she missing? 

“You really forgot about your dear old friend, didn’t you?” she chuckled.

Old friend… Oh. The memory crashed over her like a wave. More than twenty years had gone by and she had forgotten. But could she really be…?

“Kana…” she whispered, but it was loud enough for Kana to understand that she remembered. She grinned wickedly. 

“Long time no see. I see that you are a magic knight captain. It suits you. Well, it’s a pity that soon there won’t be any magic knights.”

“And you are a villain. Yet you are very proud of it. And I am sorry to inform you that your plans will soon be stopped. I won’t let you harm the citizens of this kingdom.”

“We’ll see about that. And I won’t hurt all of them. Only those who dare to oppose me.” she smirked.

“ I see that your roses are still blue.” she continued. “But I can sense that you haven’t unlocked your curse’s potential. And that shows that you will always be weaker than me.” 

“ Weak? I can’t believe that you are still thinking like that. And what is going on with that mask? Why are you wearing it?”

“Power comes with a price.” 

“No matter how much power you have, you are definitely not going to steal the grimoire. I will stop you.” she was ready to charge towards her when Kana spoke holding a hand in front of her.

“Oh please, don’t think that I came here to fight you. I just wanted you to see that I became who I wanted since I was a child. Dynasty. I wanted you to see how powerful I became.” 

Charlotte extended the briars from her sword, towards her but before they could reach her she had already vanished. She couldn’t feel her mana anymore. 

She stood there trying to contemplate everything she had seen and heard. Kana. They used to hang out from the age of five to the age of seven years old. Kana always showed off her powers to Charlotte, even though she was the only person in her life that was the closest to being a friend. She would always mention how she would become the strongest mage. And there were a few times when she used that nickname, though rarely. It was like a secret she only confided to her. She used to find it odd. She had a name and its meaning was connected to power and she wanted one more name which had the same meaning. She later figured that this should be blamed on her thirst for power.  
One day her family was found involved in a scandal about them using illegal forms of magic. She recalled how shocked and afraid she was when she had heard that. She worried that her friend would succumb to such unethical means of fighting. People were also talking about them using demon magic, but no one was sure, they were all just rumors. Kana and her family left their residence and the two girls never saw each other again. And now, after all these years, she was trying to take over the Kingdom with the help of a demon.  
She knows that she has to stop her, no matter what. She will also do it to save her soul from being captured by the demon. She feels obliged to, as an old friend. But for a moment, she felt sadness, for the loss of an old friend to darkness, as she knows that she will never come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who left Kudos on the story!

Charlotte contacted Marx and informed him that she had more information about Dynasty. He immediately contacted Julius and the other captains and a meeting was decided to be held. 

“Charlotte, you contacted Marx telling him that you have important information about Dynasty.” Julius said after all the captains had taken a seat.  
She told them about the attack. 

“Dynasty is just a nickname. Her real name is Kana. She is from the House of Dasserton. 21 years ago, her family was found involved in a scandal about illegal magic. Some of you might remember it. She used to be an acquaintance of mine when we were children and I know that she was, and still is, obsessed with power.”

Most of the captains, as well as Julius and Marx, knew her family. But as the years went by, they were forgotten. Most thought that they had left from the Clover Kingdom but no one was certain that this was the truth.  
During the rest of the meeting, they discussed about her family and their whereabouts, in hopes of finding more clues that could lead to her. They would try to detect them, but it would be difficult.

At the end of the meeting, all captains, but Yami and Charlotte, had left the meeting room. Charlotte was about to leave when Julius spoke.  
“Charlotte, I know that you were only kids then, but if you remember anything else that could help us, contact me.”

“Of course.”

“ And one more thing. Do you think that her mindset could ever change?”

“No. No moral code will prevent her from thinking this way. Her thirst for power is driving her towards those actions.”

“Good to know. You can go now.” he said with a small smile.

She and Yami exited the meeting room. 

“You certainly had some interesting friends when you were a kid.”

“I didn’t say that we were friends.” Charlotte didn’t want to share many things about her childhood. Nor did she want to tell anyone about her old friendship.

“You didn’t have to. I can tell that you were friends. It’s pointless to hide it.”   
Charlotte sighed. She knew that she couldn’t avoid this. She just hoped that he wouldn’t talk about this with anyone else.

“Well, we weren’t the best of friends. And back then, she wasn’t as crazy as she is now.”

“You said that she was obsessed with power. You don’t seem like the person to make friends with this kind of people.”

“She wasn’t evil.”

“But, out of so many kids, you chose to hang out with her. I bet that she wasn’t the most normal kid.” 

“No, she wasn’t. But I wasn’t normal either.” 

Yami looked at her questioningly. He was waiting for her to continue.

“I was a cursed child. You can’t call this very normal.” she slightly chuckled, hiding the sadness behind her words.   
Yami was slightly taken aback. He didn’t know that Charlotte’s curse had burdened her so much. 

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know...”

“Don’t be. I accepted it many years ago.”   
“And normal is boring sometimes.” she added.

“It is.” he said with a small smile. 

Yami wanted to say something, to comfort her. But he wasn’t good with words. He knew that she was honest now, she had accepted her curse, but he still felt the need to comfort her. He also felt the need to kick all the kids that didn’t hang out with her because of her curse. 

Later that night, a few patrols were placed around the Black Bulls base. Suddenly, an explosion hit in the forest and half of the patrols hurried towards that location. The rest of them were on high alert.   
Smoke engulfed the area. The smoke didn’t cause any damage itself but it worked as a distraction. Half of the magic knights who were patrolling got injured, as the enemies attacked them, benefiting from the situation. When the smoke cleared, the Black Bulls were already out of the base, ready to fight. Only Asta was left behind, as it was planned.   
They found themselves against Dynasty and thirty other mages. They charged against them. At the same time, the rest of the squads were contacted. All available magic knights would arrive soon.

The fight was very difficult. But soon more magic knights arrived, as well as captains. Charlotte was one of the first who did. She believed that defeating Kana was her job. Her duty.  
No one was able to get close to Dynasty, though. Her allies made sure of that. And they turned out to be very strong!

Yuno had also arrived. Along with him came Mimosa and Klaus. Everyone was fighting with all they got. Yami, Fuegoleon, Jack, Charmy, Magna and Luck, Vanessa, Grey and Gauche, Puli, Sol, Gordon, Noelle, and many others.

Yami was fighting against two particularly strong mages. The moment he hit them with a slash of his katana, a third mage was going to attack him from behind. The next thing that was heard was a thud and Yami, having injured the other two, turned around. Charlotte was standing next to him. She had hit him with her briars. 

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He nodded. They continued fighting side by side in total harmony. It was like they had trained for years to fight together. And they were marvellous. No enemy stood a chance against them. Their teamwork was flawless. They wouldn't let anyone hurt the other. However, they hadn't noticed that they were protecting each other.   
Soon they were heading towards opposite sides of the battlefield. But neither of them noticed. Charlotte was determined to get close to Kana. She would stop her before she could harm anyone else.  
Charlotte was getting closer to Dynasty, but she hadn’t noticed as her attention was held by someone else. Asta had left his hiding spot. Kana's eyes were glued to his grimoire. She was determined to get it. This would be the endgame.   
And then Charlotte saw it. A weapon. A sceptre. It had just appeared in her hand. And Kana held it in front of her, its point towards Asta. A purple glow was emitted from its tip. And in seconds the grimoire was in her hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter every Tuesday!
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Also sorry if this chapter is shorter. The other chapters are longer!


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone stopped. It was like time had stopped. Everyone was looking at the grimoire in Dynasty’s hand.

Suddenly, a voice shouted in Charlotte’s head and ordered her to move, to act. And before she knew it, she had lunged forward and her briars met Dynasty’s back.

On the ground, the fight continued. Dynasty’s allies were even more persistent than before, as their plans were becoming reality. However, their numbers had dropped. Meanwhile, Kana had regained her balance. She shot purple lighting from her hand towards Charlotte, which the latter avoided. Kana kept firing them at her and Charlotte kept deflecting them with her briars. Charlotte was also using her mana to levitate.

“Well, it was fun fighting with you, Charlotte. But I will have to use my new powers.” she smirked as she pointed the sceptre towards Charlotte. The grimoire opened to a new page and the sceptre started glowing dark.

But before she could mutter the spell, she felt strong mana heading towards her. Yami. She turned around quickly, ready to shoot him. Everything happened in seconds. The black magic hit Yami’s katana - he put it in front of his chest in time in order to protect himself - and pushed him back. However, Charlotte thought that he was hit on his chest. She didn’t see that Finral opened two portals so that Yami could land safely on the ground. She only saw the impact and then something strange awakened in her. Maybe she had screamed “No”, but she wasn't sure. Her irises were glowing, though still blue, as she lunged forward, as quick as light, and kicked Kana, the sceptre escaping her hands. Charlotte caught it. She held it in her hands.

She had to destroy it. She couldn’t let such a weapon exist. Suddenly, the image of Yami getting hit by it replayed in her head. And then, she knew what to do.

Her grimoire opened on a new page, and a new spell was written. She opened her hands, as vines with blue roses wrapped around the sceptre. The roses were glowing too, just like her eyes. A purple aura surrounded her briars, as her curse magic was slowly destroying the sceptre.

Meanwhile, Yuno and Asta - who had gotten his grimoire back when it fell on the ground - were fighting Dynasty, preventing her from reaching Charlotte. Yami watched as Charlotte’s eyes glowed and felt her mana get stronger while her briars were wrapped around the sceptre. She had surpassed her limits once more. He felt a swell of pride. Then, he also started attacking Dynasty, who was very pissed.

Charlotte was putting all of her energy into destroying the weapon. She concentrated. She had to save everyone. Then, a glow covered the sceptre. She didn’t notice, but this was the second time that everyone stopped whatever they were doing and just watched the glow faint, and then, the space where the sceptre was, was empty. She had succeeded! Her eyes were still glowing, but not as bright.

Dynasty was infuriated, mad. Her grimoire turned to another page. She threw her hands forward and Yami, Yuno and Asta were all hit with a very powerful wave of power. With her magic, she created two creatures to distract these three. They couldn’t get to her as the monsters had her magic and they were very powerful.

She turned her head towards Charlotte. They were both levitating and for two seconds everything seemed silent, even though it wasn’t. For these two seconds, they just looked at each other. Light and darkness. Though, Charlotte's light had a bit of darkness in it, due to her curse. This was the endgame.

They started attacking each other. Vines met purple magic. This went on for a couple of minutes. As Charlotte was trying to avoid Kana’s attacks she ended up getting hit - when she was afloat a couple of meters above the ground - and fell on the ground. She turned to her side and got up, with difficulty. She had to finish this, she told herself. And she would. Her eyes didn’t glow.

“I underestimated you. You are very strong. You unlocked your curse’s potential. But I still have mana left, whereas you, not so much. And you are going to pay for destroying my weapon.” she spoke with cold fury.

“I wouldn’t let you harm anyone!” Charlotte replied, though deep down she really didn’t know how much she was going to last. That spell had taken up a lot of her mana.

Their powers were clashing again. Charlotte’s vines grazed Kana’s shoulder. And then Charlotte ran towards Kana, and as she extended her vines from her sword once more, Kana disappeared. She reappeared next to Charlotte and before she knew it purple lighting struck her side and she was thrown on the ground again. The side of her body that impacted with the ground, hurt.

While she was getting up, lightning hit her again. And again. She could breathe with difficulty. She was dizzy. She couldn’t move. The last thing she saw was Kana towered over her. And then a foot hit her stomach. Afterwards, everything went black.

Kana had just pressed her foot on her stomach when Asta crushed his sword in her guts. With the force that he was flying towards her, in his half-demon form, she ended up against a tree with the sword still in her guts. Blood was dripping out of her mouth.

Yami didn’t even look for Dynasty. He was running towards Charlotte. She was lying unconscious with blood on one side of her face. He felt her ki before he reached her, to make sure she was breathing. She was, though her breaths were shallow. At least she was alive. He placed her in his arms. She was the bravest and toughest woman he knew and now she was heavily injured. She had pushed herself too much. He would protect her no matter what. His heart broke seeing her so fragile. Her heartbeat dropped lower. Finral rushed at the scene.

“Ca- Captain Yami..”

“ Finral, open a portal to the magic knights' hospital.”

Finral did as he was told and Yami ran through the portal, full of dread, as every second was critical for Charlotte. _His Charlotte._


	4. Chapter 4

Yami was pacing outside Charlotte’s hospital wing. Owen didn’t let him stay inside the room. The only thing he knew was that when he put her on the bed, her heart rate dropped even lower and Owen told him to get out of the room while he was trying to stabilize her heartbeat. 

He didn't know how many minutes had passed. He was trying to think positively.  _ She is the toughest woman.  _ He kept repeating to himself.  _ She will be fine. _

__ Suddenly, the door opened. It was Owen.

“Her heartbeat is stabilized.” And at the sound of these words, Yami exhaled, feeling relieved. “She is very strong. She was heavily injured and had almost no mana. Nevertheless, she managed to survive.”

“After all, she is the toughest woman.” Yami said.

“I also cleared her injuries.”

“When is she going to wake up?”

“I don’t know. It could be three days, five, a week, maybe even two. Her body is exhausted and it will take time for her to wake up.”

“As long as she’s alive, everything will be fine. Thank you, old man.”

Owen was intrigued by Yami’s affection towards Charlotte, but he didn’t want to question him at the moment.

“You don’t have to thank me. If you want you can visit her. Also, I think that you should inform some members of her-”

“ONEESAN!” 

Both turned to the person who shouted.

“She is in here.” Owen said and showed the room. It was Sol and Puli.

“You brought our captain here?” asked Puli.

“Yes. She was heavily injured, so-”

“Thank you!” said both. Then they headed in the room and Owen followed, in order to inform them about Charlotte’s state.

For the next week, Yami visited Charlotte every day. The Blue Rose members came across him sometimes, though they never asked about it, as they wanted Yami to spend time with Charlotte. 

The Black Bulls had also noticed his frequent visits to the hospital but didn’t say anything about it either.

Yami never thought that he would see Charlotte so fragile. Even though her health state was better, he was becoming more worried as the days passed and she didn’t wake up. He was worried about the toll that the fight had on her body. Every time he visited her, he felt something in his heart. It was that feeling again, though now, it was more intense. 

A week had gone by since the accident, and Charlotte finally woke up. She fluttered her eyes and tried to adjust to the brightness of the room. Then, she realized that she wasn’t in her room. She sat up quickly, wincing. She was at the hospital. All the memories came back to her a couple of seconds later.

_ Kana. _ She remembered that Kana had knocked her out, but she didn’t know what happened to her afterward. She assumed that she escaped. 

_ I have to find her and stop her once and for all.  _ She thought with determination. She got up from the bed, wincing as she did so. 

She searched around the room for her suit and armor and found them in a drawer. 

After she had worn her suit and armor, she stood for a second. Some parts of her body were aching and she took some breaths in order to brace herself. Then she quickly got to the door and opened it. Though, she didn’t get farther. Yami and Owen were in the corridor discussing something and when she opened the door, their heads snapped in her direction.

“Where’s Kana?” she asked.

“What are you doing? You should be resting!” Yami said and immediately came to her side.

“I have to stop her!”

“She is dead. Asta killed her after you fell unconscious.” he answered.

“Oh.” was all that she said. Relief coursed through her body and then she started feeling her legs wobbly. Before she fell, Yami placed her in his arms and carried her in the room. 

When he placed her on the bed - in a sitting position - she was already a blushing mess. Yami deliberately ignored it.

“I’ve told you before; Don’t push yourself too much! Change your clothes and get some rest. I will come by in a couple of minutes.” His expression was one of worry.

Charlotte changed and laid under the covers. She was relieved to finally be able to rest. However, she was still blushing, thinking about Yami’s words. She wondered if he knew what that phrase was doing to her heart. 

Later, he knocked on the door and after she gave him permission to enter the room, he sat on a chair next to the bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“I- I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Your face is red.”

“Yes, I am fine.” Now she was blushing even more.

“You shouldn’t have gotten out of bed after just waking up. Even if Kana was still out there, you should have stayed here. Your body hasn’t recovered enough for another fight.”

“You don’t understand. It was something that I had to do.”

“I understand your motive. But if that was the case you would need help. And stop trying to deny it. I’ve told you before that you should learn to rely on other people too. And you already destroyed her weapon on your own.”

She was looking at him. She never asked for help. She was always trying to solve her problems on her own. She wondered why he bothered telling her to ask for help. Why did he care so much? He didn’t seem to reciprocate her feelings.  _ Well, we are colleagues, that must be why. _

“At least, she will not put anyone’s life in danger again.” she admitted.

“How are you feeling about that? I mean, she used to be a friend of yours.”

“Well, it saddens me. Not only her death but also the fact that she resorted to darkness. I tried to believe that she was better than that. That she would not succumb to it. Guess I was wrong. I don’t think that she could feel anything close to love. I could feel that whatever good was left in her, was gone.” 

They stayed in silence for a few minutes.

“Charlotte. Remember when you destroyed the sceptre?”

“Of course.”

“Well, during that time your irises… They were glowing. Did you know that?”

“What? No. I- I didn’t know. I guess I used a hidden power my curse had. Kana mentioned something about unlocking my curse's potential. I will try to figure out more about these powers when I leave the hospital.”

“Just don’t use them too much because they seemed to take up a lot of your mana. And now you need to be more careful and not exhaust yourself.” he reminded her. He was afraid -not a feeling he deals with often- that after she returned to her base she wouldn’t be careful. He just made a mental note to think about this when the time came. For now, he would make sure that she was resting.

She was blushing from all this attention she was getting from him.

“I believe,” he said, “that it is better that you didn’t kill her.”

She looked hesitant to answer. Finally, she spoke.

“I suppose that this is true. I don’t know if I would like to go through that.”

“You might be prickly, but you are not evil.” he admitted. And for some reason that comment caught her off guard. That was certainly a compliment, she thought. Probably a compliment that colleagues said to each other, she thought disappointed.

“Wait. Weren’t you injured too?” she asked suddenly.

“Just lightly.”

“ But I saw Kana hit you on your chest. And then you fell.”

“No, she hit my katana. And thanks to Finral I landed safely.”

“Oh, good,” she said while trying not to seem too happy. Of course, Yami could see through her act. His heart fluttered knowing that she was worried for him. She was very cute.

“Worried about me?” he said with a small smirk.

“W- WHA- um, I was- I was just wondering. I mean, you are a colleague. I wouldn’t like it if you died.”

He smiled. “Same goes for you.”

They were looking at each other for a couple of seconds until Charlotte spoke and broke eye contact in order to stop her heart from beating wildly.

“Um, do you know when I will be able to leave?”

“You will stay here for at least a week.”

“What?? I can’t stay here for that long!!”

“Yes, you can and you will! Charlotte this is your health we’re talking about! You will stay here until you are well enough to leave. Don’t push yourself too much!”

“Well, it’s not as easy as it seems! My squad needs me and I have to train them more, as well as myself!”

“Charlotte. It will just be a week. I think that your squad will handle this fine and I believe that they want you to rest, too. Also, training can wait for a while. Otherwise, you are going to exhaust yourself and then you will need even more days to rest. Is that what you want?”

“N-No.”

Yami hated it when she was pushing herself too much. She was always thinking about her duties, her squad, or other people and she put herself last. It was clear now. This time he would remind her that her health should be her priority. 

There was a knock on the door and when it opened, most of her squad members were there.

Yami got up and with a smile said: “Well, I’ll leave now. I will visit you tomorrow. Rest.” and he stressed out the last word. 

Her squad members were asking her about her health and they were also conversing about the battle and how awesome she had been. Sol was clingy to Charlotte -which didn’t surprise anyone.

And then, they asked about Yami. They also told her that he visited her every day while she was unconscious. Even though Charlotte wanted to believe that Yami harbored feelings for her, she didn’t want to get her hopes up. 

“He cares because we are colleagues. I don’t think that there is anything more to it.”

The girls didn’t try to argue. They knew that in this way they would get nothing. They would come up with a plan later. 

  
  


The next day, Yami brought her a dessert Charmy had made. It would also increase her mana. 

Charlotte loved it! Yami noticed that she was very adorable when she was eating. It was weird, he thought, that it had taken him ten years to notice it. Though, lately, he was often wondering about how this woman managed to be so adorable. She wasn’t only the toughest woman but also the cutest. He was slightly blushing, however neither noticed.

Then he realized that he had been staring at her and quickly turned his eyes away from her. He hoped that she didn’t think he was rude.

“That girl, Charmy, is definitely a great cook. I haven’t eaten such a delicious dessert before.”

“Do you feel better?”

“Yes. I can feel that my mana is recovering faster. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.” he said with a bright smile. And Charlotte's heart melted at the sight of it. “Though, it seems like you don’t eat a dessert often.”

At the sound of that, Charlotte blushed a deep shade of crimson. She became self-conscious as she feared that the way she was eating was weird and uncivilized.

Yami noticed her embarrassment and quickly reassured her.

“Oh, don’t worry. The way you ate was normal. You should be eating all of your food, especially now that your body needs it. Though, tomorrow I will bring you something healthier.”

“Oh.” she chuckled, relieved. “It’s true that I don’t eat desserts often. Due to training, I can’t eat unhealthy food. Only on rare occasions.”

“You are very serious about your training, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. Some things need to be sacrificed. However, I don’t mind. My training program has been strict since before I became a magic knight.” she stated.

“Why did you have such a program when you were so young?”

“I had to become stronger in order to stop my curse from activating on my eighteenth birthday. I knew that the only way to become stronger was with hard practice.”

He had never thought that Charlotte had to deal with all that pressure from such a young age. Now, it was clear to him. He understood that her program had been mostly the same for years. She was just constantly trying to surpass her limits. He had used this motto many times for his squad members. But now it was different. He was worried. He didn’t want her to push herself too much. Though, he didn’t express his concern.

Another question popped into his mind.

“Now that we’re talking about your curse, you never told me what had happened when the curse broke. How did it happen?”

He was truly curious. He hadn’t understood, even after all those years, how the curse had broken.

Charlotte opened her mouth to say something, but her voice had given up on her. She was blushing while trying to figure out what to tell him. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Three members of her squad peered into the room and Charlotte had never been more grateful for an interruption.

The question was forgotten and Yami left, not before telling her that he would visit her the next day. 

He visited her every day for the rest of the week. They were looking forward to these meetings. They would discuss a variety of topics and Yami would bring her something Charmy made. By the end of the week, they realized that they craved each other’s attention. And every day it was becoming more difficult for them to end these meetings. They had more things alike than they thought and Yami was sure now that Charlotte’s prickliness was just a facade.

The last day of her stay at the hospital arrived. Yami, Puli, and Sol were in the room conversing. They discussed the fact that Charlotte had to be careful now. She shouldn’t exhaust herself. And then Puli and Sol talked about Charlotte’s strict program and reminded her that she couldn’t train for as many hours as she used to. Sol didn’t really want to partake in Puli’s plan but she knew that this would also keep Charlotte from exhausting herself. And she didn’t want to think about what the real purpose of the plan was.

Well, Yami didn’t expect her program to be that strict. He definitely wouldn’t let Charlotte overwork herself.

Charlotte wasn’t going to let them keep talking bad about her program, so she spoke in order to defend herself.

“It might seem weird to you, but my training program is important to me. And it is not only connected to my magic knight duties. Training helps me keep my mind occupied and it is good for my mental health.” she stated with pride and confidence.

“What is bothering you so much that you want to keep your mind distracted from?” Yami asked with a serious -and a bit worried- tone.

Puli’s plan was going well. She dragged Sol out of the room with the excuse of bringing food to their captain. Charlotte was pleading with her eyes for them to stay. And now Charlotte wanted to run away from Yami’s piercing gaze. She couldn’t run, though. She couldn’t escape. She had to face him and her fears. And she was blushing so much that she was afraid she resembled a tomato.

“What has been bothering you, Charlotte?” he asked again, looking deep into her blue eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

“What has been bothering you, Charlotte?”

She was discreetly looking for a way out. She could run away like that other time, but she decided against it. She had to be brave.

“Well, many things occupy my mind. For instance, my captain duties, or the war against the Spade Kingdom.” she said, looking everywhere else except for him.

“What else?” he insisted. 

She exhaled in defeat.

“There is someone for whom I harbor feelings. Sometimes... it is difficult to get him out of my mind. Training helps.” she admitted, looking at her hands. 

“And why is it so bad to have such feelings?” 

He was worried that maybe she regretted her feelings.

“I didn’t say that it is bad. I used to think that I shouldn’t have them. Eventually, I accepted them. However, it is still weird for me, and I am not really good with feelings. I don’t know how else to handle them.”

“I think that you should talk about it with that person. In this way, you will know if your feelings are reciprocated.”

She chuckles and shakes her head.

“It is not as easy as it sounds.”

She turned and looked at him.

His eyes. She could get lost in them. She would take this leap of faith. She would put an end to this ten-year torture. She would be honest this time. And when he rejected her, she would finally be able to move on.

“I like you.”

The words had finally left her lips. She was bracing herself for rejection. She looked at the opposite wall. 

“I like you too,” he admitted with a warm smile. Her head snapped towards him.

“You do?” 

“Of course.” he said as though she had asked the dumbest question.

“Why?” she whispered.

Yami thought for a second that she was kidding. How could that woman ever doubt such a thing?

“Charlotte, what are you saying? I should be the one asking you this question.”

“You always say that I am prickly. I.. I thought that you didn’t like me. And, to be honest, my attitude towards you wasn’t very encouraging.”

“Well, you could have been less prickly, since you had these feelings for all these years. But I didn’t dislike you. I just liked teasing you.”

Charlotte was blushing harder at his last statement. But then, something dawned on her.

“You knew?”

“ Yes.” he said, trying to hide his smile, though he failed.

“B-But how?”

“Thanks to ki. I can tell when someone is lying. And you were very dishonest to me. ” he stated, feigning a hurt look. “And if you’re wondering, I didn’t tell you because I wanted you to do so when you were ready. And also, because I was not good at dealing with feelings either.” he added.

Charlotte was just staring at him, speechless. 

“You’re very cute.” he commented, a blush appearing again on his cheeks.

This comment made Charlotte blush, too. 

“Y-You are cute too.” she said looking at him. 

Yami didn’t expect that and was left speechless. Now, his blushing cheeks were redder, which gave Charlotte more confidence and a smile.

“Really?” he chuckled. “No one has ever said that to me.”

“What?? Are you serious? At least one woman must have told you, right?” 

“W-Well, no. I mean they have used other adjectives, but not cute. What makes you think that I am cute?” he asked, trying not to seem like he was desperate to listen to the answer.

“It’s not just one thing. Some of your expressions or some movements that you do are cute. Whenever you scratch your head because you are in an awkward situation, for instance, you are very cute. Or when you are concentrating on your squid cooking. You just make the cutest expressions.” she admitted feeling happier than ever. A few minutes ago, even the thought of such boldness would have made her jump out of the window.

Yami couldn’t say anything. No woman had ever noticed these things about him. They only cared for his body. But these women weren't Charlotte. And as she said these words he knew that he had fallen hard for her. She had even noticed him cooking his special recipe, even though he hadn’t known that.

He touched her cheek and smashed his lips against hers. At first, the kiss was slow, but soon it got more passionate until they broke apart due to the lack of oxygen. 

Cheers erupted from the corridor. Blue Rose members.

The two of them just smiled and shared a couple more kisses. Yami was sitting on the bed next to her. He was hugging her with one hand and with the other he held her hand. Charlotte couldn’t believe that this was reality. She was overflowing with happiness.

“So, Charlotte, since when did you have these feelings?”

“Well, since you broke the curse. I had probably felt an attraction before, but it wasn’t nearly as strong.”

“Wait. I broke the curse?? How?” he was very confused.

“By stealing my heart.” 

Yami hadn’t realized that his words had that effect on her. Though, she often occupied his thoughts after that incident.

And then he smirked as he remembered something.

“I just told you the truth. I like tough girls. And you are a very tough girl. No, sorry, a tough woman.”

Charlotte blushed a dark shade of red and pressed her head on his chest. “Yami!” 

He chuckled. He would love to spend the rest of his life with this tough, cute, and amazing woman.

“Oh, and you need to tell me the names of the kids that said you were abnormal. And their addresses.” He said with his God of Destruction look.

Charlotte looked up at him. 

“Yami… they were only children. Besides, I don’t care anymore.”

“They made you feel like you were a freak! Don’t worry, I won’t kill them.”

“Still, I won’t tell you their names. And you should know that their opinions didn’t bother me for long.”

“I find that hard to believe, but okay, I won’t try to find them.” he finally said. He hugged her tighter and she did the same.  _ As if I’m going to let them get away with hurting you. _

A few days later, he found them and paid each of them a visit. He didn’t harm them, just scared them and made them apologize to Charlotte. His God of Destruction looks terrified them.

She soon found out, when all of these people visited her brigade - at different times - to apologize. They also seemed very scared. She accepted their apologies. 

Even though she didn’t agree with what Yami did, she felt her heart expanding, while knowing that her boyfriend loved her so much. 

  
  


A couple of days after she left the hospital, Charlotte and Yami were at a restaurant, on a date.

They had been sitting there for more than two hours, talking. They loved being in each other’s company.

“You’re not exhausting yourself, right?”

“Yami, you have asked me three times so far, and the answer is still the same. I am fine.”

“Look, I am sorry. I just… I don’t want to see you as I did after the fight.” He wished he had a cigarette but he didn’t want to smoke during their date. 

Charlotte laid her hand on his on the table.

“Don’t worry, dear. I understand. When… When I unlocked this new power, it was because I saw her spell hit you. I was” she inhaled “afraid that she had injured you severely. I was also very angry.”

He turned his palm upwards and captured her hand in his own. 

“So, it seems that we worry a lot about each other.” he chuckled. He didn’t know that Charlotte cared this much about him. 

She smiled in response.

  
  


Later, as they were walking towards the Blue Rose squad’s base, Charlotte spoke.

“We also have to think about managing this relationship, while handling our captain duties.” Charlotte suggested.

“Everything will be fine. You don’t have to worry on your own. You have my help.”

She smiled and stopped. He stopped too and looked at her with a questioning look.

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Soon, they deepened the kiss. Their kisses became more passionate. When they broke apart, they were out of breath.

“I think that we should hurry to your squad’s base.” He said.

“Why?” she asked, tilting her head a bit. 

He whispered something in her ear. She blushed, a dark shade of red.

And she was still blushing when they got into her room and Yami pinned her against the door.

The next morning she was running her fingers through his hair while staring at his face. Rays of sunlight on their faces. She was smiling.

She would love to spend the rest of her life with this amazing - and cute - man.   


The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was my first fanfiction! It was a very interesting story for me to write!  
>  I love Yamichar with all my heart!!   
>  I want to thank everyone who read this story! And I also want to thank the people who left kudos on the story! This means a lot to me!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


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